To read this content please select one of the options below:

Public health expenditure, GDP and the elderly population: a comparative study

Marta Pascual-Saez (Faculty of Economics, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain)
David Cantarero-Prieto (Faculty of Economics, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain)
Daniela Castañeda (Faculty of Economics, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain)

International Journal of Social Economics

ISSN: 0306-8293

Article publication date: 9 October 2017

819

Abstract

Purpose

The correlation between health care expenditure, gross domestic product (GDP) and population over 65 years (understood as share of the elderly) is a key question for health economics and demographic impact. The purpose of this paper is to study the role of ageing society to curb rising health care expenditures along the Spanish regions over the period 2002-2013, identifying their geographic differences and explain them based on GDP differences.

Design/methodology/approach

Cointegration technique is used in order to test if there is a statistically significant connection between variables.

Findings

They are similar to some obtained when using unit root test. In particular, the authors find how the elderly positively affects health care expenditure per capita.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that any cooperation policies should aim at improving the access of people to health care services based on public health care expenditures.

Originality/value

To the best of the knowledge this is one of the first studies which suggest different results by Spanish regions due to mature decentralized system in recent years.

Keywords

Citation

Pascual-Saez, M., Cantarero-Prieto, D. and Castañeda, D. (2017), "Public health expenditure, GDP and the elderly population: a comparative study", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 44 No. 10, pp. 1390-1400. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-03-2016-0106

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles